State Briefs 10/29/08

SPRINGFIELD -- "Motor voter" registrations have soared this fall, another sign of a possible major increase in voter interest in the election next week.

Secretary of State Jesse White's office announced Wednesday that voter registration applications at state driver's license facilities increased by 50 percent since the last presidential election.

In 2004, 59,830 residents statewide submitted motor voter applications from Sept. 1 through Oct. 7. For the same time period this fall, 89,570 residents submitted the applications.

The motor voter program, established on the national level in 1993, gives anyone applying for or renewing a driver's license or state identification card the chance to register to vote. Those applications are then forwarded to local election authorities for official registration.

Secretary of state officials in a statement commended their staffs and the motor voter advisory committee for coordinating the program "effectively and efficiently."

LRS to cut 45 jobs worldwide

SPRINGFIELD -- International market turmoil reached a homegrown company with Tuesday’s announcement by Levi, Ray & Shoup that it would cut 45 jobs from a worldwide workforce of 650, including some jobs at the corporate headquarters in Springfield.

According to a statement from the company, the cutbacks result from “global financial uncertainties” that prompted some clients to cancel or postpone software projects.

“Our decisions have been difficult. But we have tried to look to the future, not to overreact and do what is best for the future of our company, our employees and our customers,” CEO Richard Levi said in the statement.

LRS, founded as a computer consulting company in 1979 in Springfield, has offices worldwide, and Software Magazine has listed it among the top 200 software firms worldwide.

The name is taken from the original officers — Richard Levi, Roger Ray and Bob Shoup — when LRS began in a leased downtown facility. Levi, a native of Springfield, eventually bought out his partners.

General counsel and senior vice president Greg Collins said the company would not disclose the number of jobs at individual offices, but that the cuts included the corporate office at 2401 W. Monroe St., as well as locations in Glastsonbury, Conn.; Atlanta; Richardson, Texas; Irvine, Calif.; St. Louis; Mexico City; Chelteham, England; Munich, Germany; and Milan, Italy.

State Journal-Register

Police: Officer injured by man on drugs

PEORIA -- An off-duty Peoria police officer was injured Tuesday night on his way home from work when a motorist allegedly under the influence of drugs rear-ended his truck.

Dave Buchanan, a 13-year veteran of the department, was driving north on Galena Road near Detweiller Drive about 11:50 p.m. when he was hit from behind.

That car’s driver, Sean M. Carroll, 20, of Chillicothe, was arrested and booked on a charge of driving under the influence of drugs.

Buchanan was taken to an area hospital for a broken nose and concussion, police said.

Peoria Journal Star

Rockford's job market ranked among worst

An online Career Builder report through MSN ranks Rockford's as the 24th-worst market in the country to find a job.

The report ranks the 25 markets that have the highest unemployment rates, compares that rate with last year's, and offers the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate on expected job growth.

El Centro, Calif., with an unemployment rate of more than 26 percent, tops the list of the worst markets.

Rockford Register Star

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